i would like to begin by take a moment to acknowledge my colleagues to paris in benghazi. i spent most working on the middle east. for much of my career i have been immersed in issues from serving on the desk in washington d.c. the most recently serving as deputy chief in baghdad. the honor to work with nature nearly talented, hard-working, and collegial team, best in the business. today the united states is engaging. the country is only now emerging from over 50 years of isolation, fragmentation, and war. we have a strong relation to the democratically elected government codified in u.s. strategic from murder remic the common roadmap for our bilateral commitments. through this agreement we support and assist in the rockies in building at democratic country that can play a constructive role in the region. of course challenges abound, and our work is not easy. sectarian frictions remain strong and threaten to derail negotiated accords and institutional progress. lack of hydrocarbon law fees the tension and unsettles the oil export sector. factional feuding has slowed the or